Sammet Dampers Oy and Caligo Industria Oy are merging

9.6.2021
Text Sepi Roshan
Photos Tero Takalo-Eskola

Sammet is the global technology leader in industrial dampers. Through investment in product development and innovation, accumulated expertise and a strong commitment to understanding customer needs, Sammet has established a reputation for high quality products and services. What is less obvious is the project process employed by Sammet throughout the customer journey, starting from enquiry and ending in delivery.   In a three-part series, Sammet shares its project process essentials, providing insight into what customers can expect when they choose to partner with Sammet. In this issue of the Sammet Review, the focus is on Part 3 – Delivery to after sales.

Sari Asikainen (in the middle) working together with colleagues at Sammet main office in Jyväskylä, Finland.

Time for completion

The previous issue of Sammet Review explored what customers can expect from the time the sale is agreed to the production phase. This issue considers the final phase of the project management process – delivery of final products to customers and after sales services.
 
During the delivery to after sales phase, Sammet dampers are prepared and dispatched for worldwide delivery. To ensure customer satisfaction, delivery must be coordinated with precision and efficiency. Any deviation from the expected delivery time can negatively impact customer experience, regardless of how well other project management processes have unfolded. At Sammet, delivery preparation for larger projects begins months before the delivery date, sometimes immediately after the sale is agreed. Smaller and less complex projects require less preparation, but no less attention to detail. Each project delivered involves managing time, events and decisions. The most important resource is Sammet’s people.
 
Logistics Manager, Ms Vuokko Koitela is one of the faces behind Sammet’s product delivery process, and the link between the engineers and production teams. Koitela works closely with each team to manage a smooth delivery process. Sammet’s sophisticated delivery tracking system notifies Koitela when a project is ready for delivery. “For the smallest deliveries, when the manufacturing workshop sends the packaging information through, this indicates that the order is complete and ready for shipment. For larger, more complex projects, I work with the manufacturing workshop and we prepare a manufacturing schedule together. From this, I manage delivery logistics”, says Koitela.
 
When a delivery is dispatched, Koitela informs the customer and sends all relevant documentation to them via e-mail. “Once the delivery has been confirmed as satisfactorily received by the customer, my role is finished and I am very happy”, she says.

The end is not the end

Sammet customers always have the option of purchasing a spare parts package linked with their product. A project engineer discusses customers’ needs and identifies spare parts that are most suitable. Spare parts are always replicas of existing components used in the original product, resulting in 100% compatibility and exact product functionality. Customers appreciate Sammet’s use of standardised component parts because it makes purchasing replacement parts at very short notice, easy and reduces down time for their plant and equipment. When a specific replacement part is unavailable, Sammet will call on the expertise of trusted partners to source high quality, identical substitute parts that will not affect performance or function. Spare part services are not limited to dampers manufactured by Sammet. Engineers work to provide parts that support dampers produced by others, too.
 
A spare parts sales order notifies Ms Sari Asikainen, Supply Assistant to take action. Asikainen begins the process of sourcing necessary parts from Sammet’s large warehouse or external suppliers. Sammet’s ERP system streamlines this process so that spare parts are ordered on-time and without error. Engineers are also put on stand-by to install parts, if necessary.

Vuokko Koitela

Vuokko Koitela, Logistics Manager at Sammet. Photo: Sammet Dampers.

It is the beginning

For Asikainen, discussions about spare parts signal not the end of a project, but the beginning of her role. “I work closely with the product engineers and as soon as an agreement for spare parts is reached, we develop a sourcing strategy to minimise delivery time. Buffer stock for high volume items is kept in our warehouse and we have reliable suppliers who are able to source other items at short notice”, says Asikainen. Before any product is shipped for delivery, it is quality checked, packaged and clearly labelled.
 
Asikainen plans deliveries meticulously and tracks them until they are in the customer’s hands. “We prepare delivery reports which I review to make sure deliveries are running on schedule”, explains Asikainen. “I know we have done well and a customer is satisfied when I receive a new order from them, and my role begins again”, says Asikainen proudly.

“I know we have done well and a customer is satisfied when I receive a new order from them, and my role begins again”

In addition to delivering high quality, innovative dampers and spare parts, Sammet’s customer-centric approach to the project process, helps identify other customer needs. When customers require it, the after sales team begins its work by providing a wide range of after sale services to support customer operations, such as damper inspections, miscellaneous on-site repairs, regular maintenance and damper modernisation services. A range of expert and consulting services, such as damper condition analysis, troubleshooting and technical support is also available. Sammet’s professional life cycle maintenance service enhances damper performance and minimises total life-time cost of dampers. These services can benefit plants, factories and ships supporting dampers from any manufacturer and are not limited to dampers produced by Sammet.
 
Whether its delivery of final product, spare parts or after sale services, the Sammet project process is a collaboration between teams committed to producing high quality products and services to customers, starting from initial enquiry to delivery. What is clear from Sammet’s project process is the skill, expertise and effort by the people who work tirelessly to satisfy customers. With Sammet, customers are in safe hands from start to finish. It seems that a job done well, is what contributes to keeping Finland the happiest nation on earth.